Earth Hour Set for Saturday Night

Earth Hour begins at 8:30 p.m. Saturday

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Chicago residents are preparing to turn off their lights for an hour Saturday night in honor of Earth Hour.

The global conservation effort, launched by the World Wildlife Fund in 2007, asks individuals, cities, landmarks and businesses to turn their non-essential lights off for one hour starting at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

Last year, hundreds of millions of people from 7,000 cities went dark for the one-hour event.

In Chicago, city officials, the World Wildlife Fund and ComEd will celebrate the hour at the Chicago Cultural Center's Preston Bradley Hall. The celebration features glow-in-the-dark face painting, music and more.